Oceanus was a proposed planet theorized by Thomas J.J. See. Being one of 3 proposed planets thought to be sitting beyond Neptune, along with 2 planets that are referred to as "Trans-Oceanus Planets".[1]
History[]
Oceanus was first proposed all the way in the 24th of February of 1909, in which Thomas proposed that it and along with two other planets sat beyond the orbit of Neptune. He predicted that Oceanus orbited at a distance of over 42.25 AU away from the Sun. He then went further to claim that 2 other planet's existed beyond Oceanus' orbit, stating that the second planet was over 56 AU away from the Sun, and the third planet being over 72 AU.[2] Neither of the 2 planets had been given proper names, with them only being referred to as the "Trans-Oceanus Planets". Thomas had never revealed of how he thought of his predictions for all 3 proposed planets, though it is possible that he applied some graphical technique to the observed perturbations of Neptune.[3]
Nobody had seriously sought any of Thomas' postulated planets. No evidence for Oceanus, along with the two other planets, had ever been found, and it's likely that neither of the 3 planets existed.[4]
Characteristics[]
According to Thomas, Oceanus had an orbital distance of around 42.25 AU, which gives it a year length of over 272 Years (or more or less 274.6 years).[5] However, he had never elaborated on Oceanus' size and proposed mass. Which makes it hard to tell if Oceanus is an icy terrestrial planet, or an ice giant much like Uranus and Neptune.
The other two Trans-Oceanus planets are said to have orbital distances of 56 AU and 72 AU. This means that the second planet will take over about 419 years to circle the Sun, and the third planet taking over 610.9 years to circle the Sun.[6] Similar to Oceanus, the sizes or masses of the two planets were never specified by Thomas.
Trivia[]
- "Oceanus" is the name of the titan in greek mythology, who is the son of both Uranus and Gaia. The Oceanus Procellarum, a lunar mare on the Moon, is also named after Oceanus.
References[]
- ↑ A Career of Controversy: The Anomaly of T. J. J. See| Page 36 |SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System
- ↑ A Career of Controversy: The Anomaly of T. J. J. See| Page 36 |SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System
- ↑ A Career of Controversy: The Anomaly of T. J. J. See| Page 37 |SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System
- ↑ A Career of Controversy: The Anomaly of T. J. J. See| Page 37 |SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System
- ↑ Galaxy Magazine| Page 88
- ↑ Galaxy Magazine| Page 88